4) Jiva T-shirt ($15)- There is a mock-up in update #6.All international backers should email us about add-ons, we are sorry to pick on you, but shipping is a bit trickier abroad.

UPDATE 5

French Vanilla is the newest addition to Jiva Coffee Cubes! You can now choose French Vanilla as one of your flavors for the pledge rewards!

New Stretch Goal- $65,000

Since, we released two new flavors, we decided that it is only right to reward you guys with MORE CUBES! We are going to make all the sample packs a little bit bigger which in turn will result in everyone getting some cubes on top of their current pledges! If we reach our goal then:

- The mini sampler ($5) will be upgraded to 3 flavors (2 cubes for each flavor = 6 cubes)!

- The sample ($10) will be upgraded to 6 flavors (2 cubes for each flavor =12 cubes)!

- If you pledge $20+ you will receive an upgraded mini sampler (an extra 6 cubes)!

- If you pledge $50+ you will receive an upgraded sampler (an extra 12 cubes)!

UPDATE 4

Hazelnut is officially a new flavor of Jiva coffee cubes! You can
now choose hazelnut as one of your flavors for the pledge rewards!

If you pledge $20+ then you will be receiving a free mini sample
pack ($5 pledge reward). If you pledge $50+ then you will be receiving a
free sample pack ($10 pledge reward).

*New Stretch Goal- $55,000*

2nd New Flavor- French Vanilla

If
we reach this stretch goal then we will release a French Vanilla coffee
cube came in 2nd place on a our poll (Jivacubes.com). We will also
release new pledge rewards to accommodate the introduction of this new
flavor:

1) $70- 6 boxes of your choice. We released a little early (we got a little excited). Sorry about that.

2)
$95- 6 box gift basket. It contains everything the $75/$85 pledge has, but
it includes more boxes. All gift baskets receive a free Jiva T-shirt.

UPDATE 3

New Stretch Goal- $45,000

We will be releasing a New Flavor- Hazelnut Coffee Cubes! Hazelnut was by far the most popular flavor in the poll on our website (thank you if you voted).

We will also release a New Pledge Reward (5 boxes for $60) to accompany the new flavor that will be released.

Also, if we reach the new reach goal then the Sampler ($10 pledge reward) will include10 cubes (2 for each flavor including the new hazelnut).

UPDATE 2

Everyone who pledged $5+ will receive a "cube" pouch to make it easier to take the cubes with you wherever you go.

New Stretch Goal: $35,000

If we hit our new goal:

1)
Give everyone who pledged $20+ a mini sampler ($5 pledge reward) on top
of their pledge rewards. You will be able to pick the flavor(s) in the
final survey. We will likely add more as higher stretch goals are
reached.

2) Give everyone who pledged $50+ a sampler pack ($10
pledge reward) on top of their pledge rewards. You will be able to pick
the flavor(s) in the final survey. We will add more as higher stretch
goals are reached.

3) We will make a Jiva t-shirt add-on option available.

UPDATE 1

New Stretch Goal- $25,000

If we reach this goal
then all backers that pledge $5+ will receive a free pouch to carry your
coffee/hot chocolate cubes.

Any Suggestions for future stretch goals, add-ons, rewards, etc.. are more than welcome!

New Pledge Reward

Many of you have been asking for an assorted pack of cubes. So we came up with a Super Sampler Pack,
a 24 cube assorted box that includes all of our flavors, for $20. If we
release another flavor (hint, hint) in the future it will be
automatically added to this box and the cubes per flavor will decrease by one.

We
know making a good cup of coffee isn't always possible. We're students, in between
classes we have
personally timed the lines at every coffee provider on campus, most of which are too long to endure without being late. Unless it is
one of those days where your overall mood exudes the "the whole world can wait"
attitude. Or when running through a terminal to catch an early flight, the
smiling kiosk attendant surely has that tower of no-name, muddy coffee that was
brewed sometime that morning, but do you wait for the small cup of folgers
served on the plane or do you settle for the overpriced kiosk sludge? There are
those blessed coffee fanatics that whip out their portable brewers anywhere,
making the room around them smell like a full-fledged Coffee plantation with
their ziplock bags of finely grounded micro-lotted coffee. But thats not us and
it probably isn't you either.

Coffee can be time-consuming, it can require various parts and machines and it
can get pretty expensive. As an alternative to this we personally needed an
instant coffee but the problem with that is that most instant coffee aren't any
good. The quality of the coffee in instant is acceptably subpar and the mixture
of instant, creamer and sugar often yields us an uncoordinated, unhealthy cup
of joe.

Jiva Cubes blends the
quality of a gourmet cup of coffee with the ease of making a cup of instant.

Who
is Jiva Cubes for?

Jiva
can be enjoyed by almost anybody. It’s especially convenient for students,
travelers, the outdoorsy type, and office-folk. It’s also good for those who
are OCD about their beverage consistency, are always busy going places or are
just plain lazy. No, we are not trying to insinuate anything... Okay,
fine, yes we were talking about you.

Jiva
is not for proud coffee snobs. Those out there who will whip out machinery of
any (backpack fitting) size, hand-grinders and all, to enjoy coffee in the only
way acceptable. You guys are special and we need you, so continue spreading the
aroma of fresh grinded espresso for the sake of all of us. (And although we
cower beneath your shiny handpresso, we need coffee too :/) We all can’t be at
that level of awesome so we made Jiva for ourselves and now for you.

Where
did Jiva come from?

Our
cubes are sourced from Colombia but we are based in Miami, Florida and Jiva got
its start, here, on Kickstarter. Check out our first Kickstarter project page:

◘ We have been taking our time with
the product, developing flavors and the hot cocoa cubes and have been tweaking
the cubes to reflect reviews and suggestions received from our first group of
amazing Kickstarter backers.

We
transitioned the product into larger production capabilities and managed to do
so at a lower cost to us. We successfully overhauled the production
process, and in some aspects the product itself, in order to transition a
handcrafted product to a larger production item. Our current obstacle is our
ability to wrap the cubes, which is currently done individually, by hand. Right
now we can package about 40 boxes a day; with a standard packing machine our
packaging capabilities would extend to over 300 boxes an hour. Over a 7 Fold
increase per hour.

With
this packaging capability we would be able to get Jiva into the coffee shops
and stores that are already interested in housing them!

Also,
and most importantly for us, we would like to field test our new hot chocolate
cubes, Caramel, Strong and Decaf, in order to receive your reviews and
suggestions on these. This is an invaluable process for us that will allow us
to perfect them before officially rolling them out. Although, as of right now they
are pretty delicious!

OH
YEAH! BRING ON THE CHOCOLATE!

Allen
& I are huge fans of chocolate. When experimenting with new flavors we also
played around with the idea cubes made with cacao grown from the mountains of
Colombia. We stuck with raw, unrefined cane sugar and we found the finest
Criollo type Cacao grown in the higher mountains of Colombia.

Like
wine, chocolate reflects the distinctive features of the region. The kind of
cacao beans grown, climate conditions, and how the beans are dried and
fermented vary from country to country. There are three Cacao varieties, the
Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario. The Forastero is the makes up almost 90% of
the market because they are a robust plant that has solid full bodied
taste. Colombia experiments with many types of cacao varieties but
specializes on the Criollo type which is known for its flavorful, fruity
richness. This strain is harder to grow but it proves to be worth the
trouble.

Try
out our decadent cubes and let us know what you think!

What
makes Jiva Coffee Cubes special?

◘ Jiva Coffee consists of Excelso
Beans, the highest quality coffee exported from Colombia. Unlike other
instant coffees that are made of lower quality coffee, (because hey its instant,
nobody expects quality instant anything) we use the highest quality beans.

◘ Our instant coffee is freeze-dried
not sprayed. Why does anyone even care? Freeze-drying method is a bit more
costly and it requires more time and expertise to execute, but it is well worth
higher quality coffee. Spray methods are economical and much quicker to make,
but it takes a whirlwind of chemicals you will never be able to pronounce to
process it and it leaves chemical residue which is unhealthy and icky tasting.

◘
Jiva Coffee Cubes are always made of 100% Colombian coffee. We never mix
or dilute our coffee with beans from other countries to make quotas.

◘ We know our farmers (some of
them are even Natalia’s family- uncles and such) and we have a direct
connection to the farms where the coffee and Panela is grown, enabling us
to learn and participate in the cultivation and production process.

◘ Our coffee beans are hand-picked from
the famous Santander growing region in Colombia.

What
is Panela?

◘ Our sweetener is raw, unrefined
cane sugar that is known in Colombia as Panela. It is minimally processed,
chemical-free and is never bleached.

◘ During the production process the
sugar cane is gently heated and cleansed naturally without the use of
chemicals. This yields sugar that retains nearly all of its raw nutrients. This
process also makes Panela easier to digest and break down into energy.

Delicious
doesn't always have to be difficult.

Help
us spread Jiva and bask in warm, delicious glory.

Risks and challenges

In our last project we were tested by almost every obstical possible, including having to transition a handmade product into a mechanical production. We cleared all of those issues and always kept our backers updated along the way.

Packaging time is the only issue that could slow down shipments in any way. We would have the machine setup and running within a month and would take a week to transit and clear Customs and the FDA.

If we are overwhelmingly successful, it may take a bit longer on the shipping & handling end but we have planned for expediting the shipping process in that event.

FAQ

Yes, our coffee cubes can be used for iced coffee as well. The cubes dissolve perfectly in room temperature but iced coffee will require a full 30 seconds to dissolve, as opposed to hot water which makes them dissolve almost instantaneously.

We are still experimenting with sugar-free cubes. Unfortunately, this has proved difficult because it would force us to use a chemical binder. We have a no chemical or additives policy for our products so we won’t be pursuing those. We are still trying though! We will let you know in an update if we make any break throughs.

Our entire line of cubes are made solely from natural ingredients; Colombian Coffee and raw cane sugar, nothing more.

We are in the process of finalizing certification for the Coffee Cubes and that should be done before the cubes are delivered (hopefully). This certification is being done through http://www.koshercolombia.org/. We don't want to be misleading but, we have begun the process and our manufacturer only produces coffee, cacao, and sugar (without any chemicals), naturally kosher items. Even the freeze-drying process we use to make the coffee instant is deemed kosher by the certification companies we have checked with.

The extracts we use for the flavored cubes are certified Kosher. They are sourced from Natures Flavors in the U.S. and they are USDA certified Organic, gluten-free, vegan as well as Kosher. Kehilla Kosher oversees their certification and you can reach their site here: http://www.kehillakosher.org/

Our cubes have a one year shelf life and they do not need anything special when it comes to storage. The cubes are best kept in a shelf or drawer, where it is dry and not exposed to the sun. They will do just as well in a tote or backpack.

We organized the pledge levels in terms of cubes/boxes and not flavors. At any pledge level you may choose whichever flavor you prefer for your pledge amount, including the assortment box if you pledge for a box or more. In the survey that will be sent out after the campaign, you will be able to choose your flavors.

In a SEPARATE survey question we will let you choose your complimentary cube flavors from our reach goals.